crash

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Northam Announces COVID Changes — Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesdays that, starting today, Virginia residents can start having nonemergency surgeries and dental procedures again. The governor also announced that the state Dept. of Health will soon start releasing ZIP code-level coronavirus case data. [WTOP, @kamamasters/Twitter]

County Announces New Housing Director — “Arlington County has selected Anne Venezia to be the County’s new Housing Director… She most recently served six months as the Acting Housing Director and was the Housing Finance Manager for four years prior. Venezia joined Arlington County in 2008.” [Arlington County]

Arlington Pushing for More Census Participation — “Arlington government officials say the county’s census-response rate has passed 60 percent, and local efforts will now be made to reach out to low-response hotspots across the community… the 2010 response rate of 74 percent [was] slightly below the overall Virginia average that year.” [InsideNova]

County’s Memorial Page for Erik Gutshall — Arlington County has established a “Remembering Erik” page on its website, memorializing the late County Board member Erik Gutshall, who passed away earlier this month from brain cancer. [Arlington County]

Library Seeks Material for New Archive — “Arlington Public Library announces the COVID-19 Archives project, designed to create a comprehensive picture of Arlington during an extraordinary period in our history. The Center for Local History (CLH) seeks donations of journals, photos, and objects to help document this time of difficulty and struggle, but also of resilience and hope.” [Arlington County]

Overnight Crash on Carlin Springs Road — Updated at 9:10 a.m. — “Video appears to show a car crash took down electric lines on Carlin Springs Rd near 7th St. S.” [@statter911/Twitter]

Driver Charged in Serious Crash on N. Glebe Road

By ARLnow.com
1/8

(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) The person behind the wheel of a car that careened down a hill and onto N. Glebe Road is now facing a criminal charge.

The crash happened this past Wednesday night near the Old Glebe Road overpass. It left the vehicle’s two passengers trapped and seriously injured, including one with life-threatening injuries. Firefighters used hydraulic tools to remove them from the heavily-damaged vehicle.

As of today both were still in the hospital, with one listed in stable condition and the other in critical condition, according to Arlington County Police.

Police say the driver — who walked away from the crash and suffered only minor injuries — has been charged with driving under the age of 21 after illegally consuming alcohol, a misdemeanor. The driver’s identity “is not releasable… in accordance to Virginia law,” according to ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage, implying that he or she is under the age of 18.

“This remains an active criminal investigation,” Savage said. “Anyone with information related to this incident and/or personal surveillance that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Detective J. Cox of the Critical Accident Team at 703-228-0491 or [email protected].”

BREAKING: N. Glebe Road Blocked By Serious Crash

By ARLnow.com
1/8

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) N. Glebe Road is blocked between Walker Chapel and Chain Bridge by a serious crash.

The single-vehicle crash happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. and drew a large rescue response. Firefighters extricated at two injured people from a heavily-damaged car, near the Military Road/Old Glebe Road overpass.

There were a total of three vehicle occupants and all three were injured, according to an Arlington County Fire Department spokesman. The driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries, a passenger suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, and another passenger is fighting for his life with critical injuries, said Capt. Justin Tirelli.

All three were transported to local hospitals. A crowd gathered on the bridge as police interviewed witnesses.

After the crash, debris could be seen on the hillside leading down to Glebe from Old Glebe. Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage later confirmed to ARLnow that the car had rolled down the embankment.

The road remains closed as a result of the cleanup and investigation. Drivers are being encouraged to avoid the area.

Police Pursuit Ends With Crash in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

A driver led Virginia State Police on a brief chase through part of Pentagon City and Crystal City Sunday evening.

The pursuit happened around 5:30 p.m., when a trooper tried to conduct a traffic stop on Army Navy Drive near the Pentagon City mall. The driver tried to speed off but a short time later crashed on the 200 block of 12th Street S. in Crystal City, according to VSP spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

More from VSP:

At approximately 5:30 p.m. Sunday (April 19), a Virginia State Police trooper attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 900 block of Army Navy Drive. The vehicle refused to stop and a pursuit was initiated. The suspect vehicle’s driver lost control and crashed in the 200 block of 12th Street in Arlington County. The driver then attempted to flee the scene on foot, but was quickly apprehended without incident. The driver was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of a minor injury sustained in the crash. State police charged the driver with one felony count of eluding police.

The name of the suspect and the initial reason for the traffic stop was not immediately available.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

List of County Gov’t Changes — “With cases in the region, including Arlington, we are taking critical steps to slow down the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), as the health and safety of our employees and our community is our top priority. While we will be making changes to some programs and services, we will continue to operate essential government services for our residents and businesses.” [Arlington County]

Visits Cancelled at County Jail — “All Professional Visits will be non-contact for a minimum of 30 days. All Personal Visits will be cancelled for a minimum of 30 days. All programs will be cancelled for a minimum of 30 days.” [Arlington County]

Jury Trials Postponed — “As of March 15, the Circuit Court has postponed all jury trials & released witnesses from subpoenas through March 31. Other hearings & sentencing dockets are also postponed. See attached. Arraignments & bond motions will still be heard.” [Twitter]

Metro Reduces Service — “As of 2 p.m., Friday, March 13, Metro has further escalated its response to Phase 3 of its Pandemic Flu Plan. Phase 3 is the highest level of response and will include all subsequent mitigation steps required during the public health emergency… Monday-Friday: Trains will operate every 12 minutes on each line throughout the day. The rail system will maintain normal hours, opening at 5 a.m.” [WMATA]

Visitor Restrictions at Va. Hospital Center — “Effective March 12, we have implemented new visitation restrictions to protect the health and safety of our patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19.” [Instagram]

Restaurant Delivering Free Meals — “Between the empty grocery store shelves, scary headlines, and mass closures, it’s hard not to feel like the world is ending. Which is why Medium Rare owner Mark Bucher wanted to do something to make people’s lives a little easier. So yesterday, he posted a message on Twitter: If anyone over the age of 70 needed a meal, his restaurant would make sure they got one.” [Washingtonian]

Few Crowds at Pentagon City Mall — The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall was “almost dead” at noon on Saturday as most shoppers sayed away. Meanwhile, a reader took a video of people in full body suits in the Victoria’s Secret store; it’s unclear whether they were cleaning the store or otherwise. [Twitter, Twitter]

Crash on N. Glebe Road Saturday — A crash at N. Glebe Road and Pershing Drive sent a car careening into a lamp post, over a sidewalk and smashing into the parking lot of the Buckingham Center strip mall on Saturday. [Twitter]

Fundraiser Underway to Support Wakefield Grad Injured in Car Crash

By Vernon Miles

Wakefield High School’s “Warrior Nation” and other friends of recent grad Truc Tran are rallying online to raise money online for the medical care of a student who was badly injured in a car crash last month.

Tran graduated from Wakefield in 2019 and is a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) studying biochemistry. Her friend Ileana Mendez, who created the GoFundMe for Tran’s family three days ago, said Tran excelled academically and is kind and sincere.

According to the GoFundMe page:

On February 23rd, 2020, Truc was driving back to VCU from her home in Arlington when she was involved in a terrible car accident along with her roommate and her friend. Truc was laying down on the back seat, with no seatbelt on. She suffered the worst injuries out of everyone in the car and had to be taken [to] a different hospital.

The page says that Tran suffered severe brain damage, collapsed lungs, and a broken spine. She was admitted to the cardiovascular ICU unit and given sedation.

“Truc is now at the Trauma ICU, being closely monitored and everyone is waiting for more updates on her condition,” Mendez said on the page. “She was slowly taken off the sedation and was able to open her eyes and move her shoulders and head a little. However, since the brain damage was too severe, the doctors are unsure if Truc will be able to be more responsive than how she is right now — only able to blink, move her fingers, toes, and her shoulders.”

Mendez said the broken spine will require additional surgery on top or two previous operations that attempted to fix the damage to her lungs.

“Truc’s family needs as much help as possible,” Mendez said. “Her parents are unable to work in this situation and they still have to take care of Truc’s little sister. It would be extremely appreciated if you could donate as much as you can in order to be able to cover for Truc’s stay at the hospital and for the recovery that lays ahead. The goal is to reach $500,000 as soon as possible, but whatever amount is reached we’ll be grateful for.”

As of 2 p.m. the fundraiser had raised more than $18,000.

The page has been shared throughout the Wakefield High School community.

https://twitter.com/kayonce923/status/1237394378273873921

Photo via GoFundMe

UPDATED: Columbia Pike Blocked by Overturned Vehicle

By ARLnow.com
1/5

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Columbia Pike was blocked by a crash at S. Scott Street, near the Wellington Apartments, Thursday afternoon.

The crash happened around 2:45 p.m. Initial reports suggest that a vehicle flipped on its roof and one person was removed from it by firefighters.

A traffic light was felled by the crash. So far there’s no word on injuries nor on what caused the crash.

As of 3:45 p.m., one lane in each direction had reopened, but there was still debris in the center of the roadway, including the fallen traffic signal.

Arlington County turned off three traffic cameras in the area, thus deliberately hindering ability of ARLnow and other news outlets to report on the crash. The cameras remained off, even after the patient was extricated.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Crash Closes Portion of S. Glebe Road

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:15 p.m. — All lanes are back open.

Earlier: The northbound lanes of S. Glebe Road are closed at S. Lang Street after a reported crash.

Police are working to reopen at least one of the lanes. For the time being, drivers are being detoured around the closure.

There was no immediate word as to the nature of the crash.

Driver Charged With DUI After N. Barton Street Incident

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) The driver of a landscaping truck, accused of ramming at least three vehicles, a bus stop and a house in Lyon Park earlier this week, is now facing criminal charges.

Arlington County Police say 33-year-old Jose Gomez of Gaithersburg, Maryland was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence and Driving with Open Container of Alcohol after Monday’s incident on N. Barton Street.

From an ACPD crime report:

At approximately 3:29 p.m. on March 2, police responded to the 700 block of N. Barton Street for the report of a vehicle crash with property damage. Upon arrival, it was determined that the driver of the striking vehicle allegedly hit a parked vehicle, overcorrected and then drove through a bus stop, a County light pole, metal trash container, and into two parked vehicles. The force of the impact sent one of the parked vehicles into a residence, causing structural damage. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene. Officers administered field sobriety tests and executed a warrant for a blood draw. Jose Manuel Carranza Gomez, 33, of Gaithersburg, MD was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence and Driving with Open Container of Alcohol.

The crashes destroyed the bus stop near N. Pershing Drive and, we’re told, might have caused foundation damage to the house, prompting a building inspector to place a large, orange sticker on the door.

Today a blue tarp covered the spot where a car was pushed partially into the house.

A short video of part of the incident, shared with ARLnow, shows the truck backing up onto the sidewalk and then pulling forward again, as residents yell at the driver to stop.

Bus Stop Demolished, Cars Smashed on N. Barton Street

By ARLnow.com
1/9

A driver in a landscaping truck smashed a bus stop and several cars on N. Barton Street in Lyon Park Monday afternoon.

As of 4:45 p.m., Barton Street was closed between N. Pershing Drive and 9th Street N. as a result of the incident.

Witnesses tell ARLnow that the truck was being driven erratically and began to crash into cars and through the bus stop. A video shows it slowly backing onto the sidewalk, at a 45 degree angle to the street.

“It’s scary,” a crying child can be heard saying as the truck backs up and then pulls forward again.

“Hey stop, stop,” a woman yells. Finally, witnesses said, the driver stopped and police arrived.

In all, some 4-5 vehicles appear to have been damaged, including one pressed partially into the side of a house. The glass bus stop was completely demolished, and a public trash can smashed.

Police could be seen conducting a sobriety test on the driver as of around 4:30 p.m.

The truck is branded as belonging to Greenlink, a regional landscape design, maintenance and tree care company.

Vernon Miles contributed to this report. Bus stop photo via Google Maps.

TRAFFIC ALERT: WB Route 50 Blocked by Crash

By ARLnow.com
1/3

All lanes of westbound Route 50 are blocked at the crash-prone intersection with Park Drive in the Arlington Forest area.

The crash happened in rainy weather around 8:30 a.m. Traffic cameras show at least two vehicles that appear to be involved, including one in the middle of the westbound lanes — which firefighters are pushing off to the side.

Traffic is currently being diverted at the crash scene, but at least one lane is expected to reopen shortly.

There’s no word on injuries.

Update at 8:55 a.m. — One lane has reopened while first responders await tow trucks to remove the damaged vehicles from the side of the road.

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